1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, such as a laundry washing or washing/drying machine, equipped with a drawer for loading washing agents, in accordance with the first claim.
2. The Prior Art
As known, in washing machines, and more specifically in laundry washing and washing/drying machines, before each operating cycle the user has to pour a dose of a washing agent (e.g. detergent or softener) into a single-dose drawer which is in fluid communication with the wash tub. When the machine is in operation, a water duct afferent to the drawer will flood the latter in order to supply the washing agent into the tub.
The term “single-dose drawer” refers herein to a drawer which can only contain a quantity of washing agent which is sufficient for one operating cycle of the machine, corresponding to treating one load of laundry (normally 3 to 7 Kg).
The capacity of the drawer is limited to one wash cycle in order to prevent any washing agent deposits in the drawer; in fact, the drawer is completely emptied and must then be refilled by the user before washing the next laundry load.
As an alternative to this system, which is per se functional but requires the user to refill the drawer after every wash, washing machines have been developed which are equipped with a bulk tank for washing agents: thanks to the multiple-dose capacity of their tanks, such machines can perform a certain number of wash cycles without the user having to refill the machine with a new dose of washing agent.
Machines of the above-mentioned type are described, for example, in British patent GB 2 214 524 in the name of INDUSTRIE ZANUSSI S.p.A. In this case, the machine base includes a certain number of washing agent bags which are installed in the machine after having been filled with respective washing agents and are then gradually emptied during the operating cycles of the machine; for this purpose, the bags are made of a deformable plastic material (so that no air can enter because the bags can adapt themselves to their decreasing contents), and are in fluid communication with a duct through which (by means of a pump) the washing agent is delivered to the tub.
Although the washing agent must no longer be poured in after every operating cycle of the machine, this solution still suffers from the drawback all entire washing agent bags must be replaced when they become empty, while the user is forced to carry out such task in non-optimal conditions, since the bags are located at the machine base in a position which is not easily accessible.
Moreover, the bags are made of flexible plastic, and presumably imply a certain purchase cost in addition to that of the washing agent; it follows that their complete replacement is not advantageous from an economical viewpoint.
Another system, disclosed by European patent EP 0 379 950 in the name of MIELE & CIE GmbH & CO., uses a rigid bulk tank for washing agents which are delivered to the tub through a suitable duct. The tank contains a washing agent volume corresponding to several working cycles of the machine, and the user fills the bulk tank by means of a tube having a funnel-shaped inlet mouth, which tube is connected to the tank in the lower front portion of the washing machine.
Although it overcomes some drawbacks of the previously described system (such as, for example, having to replace the entire bag), this solution still suffers from the drawback that the refilling operation is not ergonomical at all. In fact, the refilling tube has a limited length (for not taking up too much space when not in use), and the user must in any case bend to the machine base in order to pour the washing agent into the funnel-shaped mouth.
Another drawback which is common to the aforementioned solutions is that in both cases dedicated means are to be arranged on the front side of the washing machine exclusively for filling the bulk tanks. In fact, in the former case there are front doors through which the bags are removed and inserted, while in the latter case there is at least one access opening, which can be closed by means of a door or the like, through which the tank filling tube must be passed.
Some of these problems have been solved by the solution disclosed in the international application published under number WO03/027377 in the name of CADING KONSTRUKTIONS GmbH FUR MASCHINENBAU, wherein a washing agent dispenser kit capable of dispensing multiple washing agent doses is installed in a traditional washing machine.
In this solution, however, the tanks are filled by means of a special filling drawer provided by replacing the original drawer with a modified drawer essentially consisting of a simple tank filling mouth. In this regard, it should be pointed out that the water ducts afferent to a traditional single-dose drawer and required for flooding the latter have been totally eliminated in order to avoid tank flooding.
Even though this solution allows the tanks to be easily filled through the drawer, the original operation of the washing machine is changed, since it is transformed from a traditional machine using a drawer filled with a single dose by the user into a machine operating with bulk tanks. In this respect, also the original function of the dispenser drawer is completely lost, as a matter of fact, it completely loses the possibility of containing washing agents in single doses, since its only function is to provide access to the tanks.